# How many classical composers were there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559 "2005-04-09T14:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/21 "2005-04-11T01:31:45Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > The Bruch violin concerto is perhaps such a piece. Although his Scottish Rhapsody gets an occassional airing. (He actually wrote two other violin concertos, so the fact his Concerto No. 1 is known as _the_ concerto speaks volumes.) Hey don’t forget Shlomo for Cello. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/22 "2005-04-11T01:41:07Z")
It is also important to remember that working musician was not an oxymoron at that time (or at the very least it was the rule not the exception). There were theatre and dance orchestras that played regularly, and most large cities had an orchestra and likely an opera as well. Even into the era of silent movies the ritziest of them had an orchestra and a stage show along with the silent short subjects. Sousa, after leaving the Marine Corps, made his living with his “Band” traveling the circut. Electronic reproductions of music and performances have gradually winnowed the number of job opportunities down drastically for actors and musicians. There is very little live music or theatre avilable to the general public. They have Television and recorded music which fills the same role. When I was a kid, back in the dark ages, you hired bands (albeit “rock” bands) to play your school dances. NOT DeeJays. and that’s just over a 30 year period (going from when I was in school to now). Think how much the technology has changed in the last 200 years and you will see that the number of working musicians has dropped dramatically. (Don’t get me started on fundamentalist Kareoke churches). ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/23 "2005-04-11T02:13:34Z")
Smetana - maybe not quite a one-hit wonder, but nothing comes to mind beyond the _Moldau_. Ditto with Borodin and _Prince Igor_. Then again, maybe I’m just clueless 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/24 "2005-04-11T02:34:07Z")
> [@Paladud](#): > > Smetana - maybe not quite a one-hit wonder, but nothing comes to mind beyond the _Moldau_. Ditto with Borodin and _Prince Igor_. The only quibble I can think of for Smetana is the overture to _The Bartered Bride_. As for Borodin, _In the Steppes of Central Asia_ is well known, as is whichever string quartet movement it was that provided the tune for “This Is My Beloved.” I was about to include the _Polovtsian Dances_ until I remembered that those are **from** _Prince Igor_. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/25 "2005-04-11T02:41:35Z")
> [@Paladud](#): > > Smetana - maybe not quite a one-hit wonder, but nothing comes to mind beyond the _Moldau_. Ditto with Borodin and _Prince Igor_. > > Then again, maybe I’m just clueless 🙂 Being a half-assed Slavophile, I have to say…I have one Smetana recording (_Ma Vlast_) and I have no idea where it is. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/26 "2005-04-11T05:17:37Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > The only quibble I can think of for Smetana is the overture to _The Bartered Bride_. Plus the rest of the opera 😉 His piano trio and quartets also get fairly regular airings. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/27 "2005-04-11T06:27:18Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > OK, fair enough, maybe Holst is known by that one piece. And for one movement alone, at that. I don’t like it, though… Well, Holst’s **Egdon Heath** and his music for the ballet **The Perfect Fool** are reasonably well known (I have them both on CD, the former on a compilation entirely of Holst’s lesser-known orchestral works). Orff has – off the top of my head – _Der Mond_, _Catulli Carmina_ and _De Tempore Fine Comoedia_. I’d also dispute that _Mars_ is the only part of **The Planets** that is well known. Most people familiar with so-called “classical music” would recognize parts of _Jupiter_, I’d say (also, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band did a piece called **Joybringer** that was based on it and received radio airplay). My vote for classical one-hit wonder? Paul Dukas, whose _Sorcerer’s Apprentice_ is known worldwide via Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney’s 1940 film [Fantasia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/). Dukas wrote other pieces, but they’re rarely performed IMHO. Any Dopers have any Dukas in their collection other than **SA**? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/28 "2005-04-11T08:59:38Z")
I’m a casual fan of classical music, and here are a few other composers from whom I can only think of one work: **Barber** (Adagio for strings) (which is a movement of a larger work) **Resphigi** (The Pines of Rome) And while I’ve heard of a few things by **Bizet** other than _Carmen_, I think he fit the “one hit wonder” mold pretty well, as that’s at the very top of the list of favorite classical works, and nothing else of his even comes close. I also have a book about the 50 greatest classical composers which leaves out **Rachmaninoff** because (it claims) nothing of his aside from one excellent piano concerto is ever played. (But **Pachelbel** is DEFINITELY the best answer.) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/29 "2005-04-11T12:28:48Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I also have a book about the 50 greatest classical composers which leaves out **Rachmaninoff** because (it claims) nothing of his aside from one excellent piano concerto is ever played. Oh for god’s sake. The Prelude in C-Sharp Minor? The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/30 "2005-04-11T15:46:59Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > **Barber** (Adagio for strings) (which is a movement of a larger work) His violin concerto gets a fair few outings. > [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > Oh for god’s sake. The Prelude in C-Sharp Minor? The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini? The second symphony? Oodles of chamber & piano stuff? The Bells? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/31 "2005-04-11T16:03:31Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > … And while I’ve heard of a few things by **Bizet** other than _Carmen_, I think he fit the “one hit wonder” mold pretty well, as that’s at the very top of the list of favorite classical works, and nothing else of his even comes close. Bizet is definately NOT a OHW - The L’Arlesienne suites, Symphony in C are played to death on classical radio. And don’t forget his “other” opera “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” (The Pearl Fishers). And there is that part of the “Jeux d’enfants” piano suite that is used in commercials and cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/32 "2005-04-11T16:22:24Z")
My take on it is that there are hundreds of thousands of classical composers. Luckily we have forgotten all but a hundred or so of the very best. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/33 "2005-04-11T18:43:12Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I’m a casual fan of classical music, and here are a few other composers from whom I can only think of one work: > **Barber** (Adagio for strings) (which is a movement of a larger work) > **Resphigi** (The Pines of Rome) If you’re going to mention Respighi’s _Pines of Rome_ as his one hit, you’re probably artificially limiting the scope, as _Pines_ is part of the so-called “Roman Trilogy”, also including _Fountains of Rome_ and _Roman Festivals_. I’d say _Fountains_ is just as famous. Barber’s “Adagio” is originally from his String Quartet #1, but it had to have been fleshed out a bit, since there are more than four parts in the string orchestra version. I’m not positive because I’ve never heard the string quartet. My votes for classical one-hit wonders would have to be Dukas and Pachelbel. I know I’ve _heard_ other pieces they wrote, but they were utterly forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/34 "2005-04-11T19:37:13Z")
> [@ddgryphon](#): > > It is also important to remember that working musician was not an oxymoron at that time (or at the very least it was the rule not the exception). There were theatre and dance orchestras that played regularly, and most large cities had an orchestra and likely an opera as well. Yeah, and if you go back far enough, you get to the period when a musician would be hired by a nobleman (e.g. Haydn) or a church (e.g. Bach) to crank out original compositions for all sorts of purposes and occasions, in addition to leading the performances thereof. ---
**Author:** ![GKW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@GKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GKW)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/35 "2005-04-11T19:44:09Z")
There are several periods in western music: Renaissance, Baroque, Classical (1750-1820), Romantic, and 20th Century. The most popular composers of the Classical period included Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. Many of the composers mentioned in this thread are from a different musical time period than Classical. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/36 "2005-04-11T20:28:01Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > (But **Pachelbel** is DEFINITELY the best answer.) Well, thank you! I’d say that, as **Bippy** pointed out, Albinoni’s _Adagio_ is right up there, too. I note from the Wikipedia entry on Albinoni, that the _Adagio_ is actually “a 1945 reconstruction by Remo Giazotto of a fragment from a slow movement of a trio sonata he discovered among the ruins of the Dresden State Library.” So Albinoni might be most famous for a piece he didn’t really write himself. That’s a whole different level of one-hit-wonderness. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/37 "2005-04-11T21:14:10Z")
> [@GKW](#): > > There are several periods in western music: Renaissance, Baroque, Classical (1750-1820), Romantic, and 20th Century. The most popular composers of the Classical period included Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. Many of the composers mentioned in this thread are from a different musical time period than Classical. Labels, labels, labels… It’s clear that everybody took the ‘classical’ classification in its wider sense, meaning ‘music from the western & European traditions’. There’s plenty of composers from the seven decades you mention who can’t be accurately described as classical in the narrow sense - including, errrm, Beethoven and Schubert. There was no ‘renaissance’ in music, and the ‘baroque period’ covers a vast array of styles, idioms and agendas. And ‘20th century’ as a ‘period’ is meaningless beyond a high-school classroom. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/38 "2005-04-11T22:31:58Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > Any Dopers have any Dukas in their collection other than **SA**? Just the fanfare from _La Peri_. On the CD “Brass Greatest Hits”. But the only copy of SA I have is on my video of _Fantasia_. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/39 "2005-04-11T22:49:21Z")
I think Ponchielli, who wrote “Dance of the Hours,” also popularised by Disney’s _Fantasia_, as well as Spike Jones and the City Slickers and Alan Sherman, counts as a one-hit wonder, too. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559/40 "2005-04-12T04:09:47Z")
Then there is **Telemann** , often described as a “no-hit wonder”. In his time, he was the big cheese in Germany, ahead of Handel and well ahead of Bach. (Bach was considered a provincial musician with his organ playing as his primary claim to fame.) How things have changed! Telemann is still well-loved in Baroque circles and does get recorded regularly, but can you think of one tune of his? Compare that to Water Music, The Messiah, Harmonious Blacksmith, Largo from Xerxes, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Air on the G string, Goldberg Variations, Brandenburg Concertos, Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, etc, etc, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-classical-composers-were-there/298559.md?page=3)